Live Cell Imaging Market Report 2025

This Live Cell Imaging market report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s historic and forecast market growth by geography.

The live cell imaging market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $4.99 billion in 2024 to $5.72 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to drug discovery and development, cancer research, biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals, clinical applications, cellular and molecular biology.

The live cell imaging market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $9.94 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to infectious disease research, adoption of personalized medicine, environmental and ecological research, infectious disease research, immunotherapy development. Major trends in the forecast period include 3D and 4d imaging, super-resolution microscopy, high-content screening, live-cell tracking software, microfluidic devices.

The increasing prevalence of cancer is anticipated to drive the growth of the live cell imaging market during the forecast period. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for one in every six fatalities each year. For example, in July 2024, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, a government agency in Australia focused on providing comprehensive health and welfare data and analysis, reported that the number of cancer cases diagnosed in Australia rose from 156,781 in 2021 to 160,570 in 2022, reflecting an increase of 3,789 cases over that year. Live cell imaging technology is essential for advancing and validating cancer immunotherapy by enabling the visualization, characterization, and evaluation of biological processes in living cells. Consequently, the rising incidence of cancer contributes to the growth of the live cell imaging market.

The burgeoning demand for personalized medicine is set to propel the live cell imaging market forward. Personalized medicine revolutionizes medical treatment by tailoring decisions, interventions, and drug therapies to the individual patient based on their unique genetic, molecular, and cellular characteristics. This approach proves invaluable for live cell imaging, enabling customization of medical treatments to an individual's specific biological traits. For example, by October 2022, there were over 75,000 genetic testing products and 300 personalized medicines, showcasing the increasing adoption of personalized medicine and, consequently, driving the growth of the live cell imaging market.

The potential constraint in the growth of the live cell imaging market is the lack of skilled professionals. The intricate nature of live cell imaging technology demands highly skilled professionals proficient in understanding and studying cellular functions. Reports indicate a severe shortage of laboratory skills in the UK and Europe over the next decade, with medical laboratories among the most affected. The Gatsby Foundation's research suggests that the UK will need an additional 700,000 technicians by the end of 2030 to support the economy. This shortage of skilled professionals poses a potential impediment to market growth in the coming years.

Leading companies in the live cell imaging market are driving revenue through the development of innovative products. The CytoSMART Omni FL, a next-generation live-cell imaging analysis system, is a notable example. This system introduces red and green fluorescence channels into the CytoSMART Omni product line for the first time, enabling the production of high-quality brightfield or high-throughput fluorescence images of living cells in various transparent cell culture vessels. CytoSMART Technologies, a Netherlands-based company, launched this versatile and flexible device in April 2022, showcasing the continuous innovation in the live cell imaging market.

In March 2022, Axion BioSystems, a US-based life sciences company, acquired CytoSMART Technologies for an undisclosed amount. This strategic acquisition aims to facilitate Axion's expansion into stem cell research and immuno-oncology, leveraging the expertise of CytoSMART Technologies in the field of live cell imaging.

Major companies operating in the live cell imaging market include Leica Microsystems GmbH, Olympus Corporation, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, PerkinElmer Inc., GE Healthcare Technologies Inc., Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Becton Dickinson and Company, Molecular Devices LLC, Bruker Corporation, Sartorius AG, Oxford Instruments plc, BioTek Instruments Inc., Etaluma Inc., CytoSMART Technologies B.V., Blue-Ray Biotech Corp., CYTENA GmbH, Nanolive SA, Abberior GmbH, Phase Holographic Imaging AB, Cytoskeleton Inc., Corning Incorporated, KEYENCE Corporation, Aligned Genetics Inc., Axion BioSystems Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., NanoEnTek Inc., Danaher Corporation, Agilent Technologies Inc., Leinco Technologies, Phasefocus Ltd.

North America was the largest region in the live cell imaging market in 2024. The regions covered in the live cell imaging market analysis report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa. The countries covered in the live cell imaging market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, and USA.

Live cell imaging involves the in vivo imaging of living cells, serving diagnostic and treatment purposes. The associated equipment enables a detailed examination of internal structures and cellular processes, contributing to a deeper understanding of cell biology.

Live cell imaging products are primarily categorized into equipment, consumables, and software. The technologies utilized in live cell imaging encompass time-lapse microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), high content screening (HCS), among others. Applications of live cell imaging extend to cell biology, developmental biology, stem cell and drug discovery, and various other fields. It is widely employed in sectors such as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic and research institutes, as well as contract research organizations (CROs).

The live cell imaging market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides live cell imaging market statistics, including live cell imaging industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a live cell imaging market share, detailed live cell imaging market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the live cell imaging industry. This live cell imaging market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The live cell imaging market consists of sales of light microscopes, objective lenses, accessories, and reagents. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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